Same-sex civil unions in Italy rose in 2023 to a six-year high, the country’s national statistics office said on Friday, but at the same time LGBTQ groups say the current conservative government is making life harder for them. There were 3,019 same-sex unions last year, ISTAT said, a 7.3% year-on-year increase. It was the highest number since 2017, the first full year after same-sex partnerships were legalised under a centre-left administration. It was still a small number compared with the more than 184,000 weddings – which are allowed only for heterosexual couples – in 2023, and around 82,000 separations and 80,000 divorces, data showed. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni won power in 2022 at the helm of a right-wing coalition following campaign pledges to defend traditional family values and fight against what she and her allies call the LGBT lobby.